PsycoUnc

-btw, MDGx, when you remove a file from 98se2me, do you include code to automatically restore that file's 98se backup? If not, that would be a VERY good/helpful idea... (and absolutely vital for people who aren't techies... and even us techies can flake-out sometimes , so automating such corrections might save some potential troubles...) . You could create another simple, small .bat and a filelist of all removed files, looping thru em, so in the future it'd be easy to just tack on any additional files to the filelist... . -and for compatibility's sake, make sure you look in all 4 places, sequentially, for the (newest) 98se replacement version: 1) 9!M (or win98se's /options/cabs dir), in case such file has been updated; 2) the current 98se2me Backup dir; 3) previous version 98se2me Backup dirs (old full-OS-backup style) 4) win98se's /options/cabs/xxx.CAB file (for original w98se version, if no newer ones found, above)

-hi MDGx, thx for the recent help... ... (-and here comes the BUT ): -BUT, I noticed in your .bat files that you didn't change/remove the >IF "%winbootdir%"=="" GOTO N@ >IF NOT "%windir%"=="" GOTO N@ stuff... ?... I believe the 2nd one, "%windir%", may cause problems when the user sets that var in autoexec... (unless your recent change of moving the checking to wininit executes the conditional *before* autoexec.bat executes; I'm not familiar w/wininit stuff...) ? ... -Re: thumbdrive: hmmm, MD2.2 worked fine w/it, do u think the changes made into 2.3 are the culprit? (haven't had the time to find/restore/update/tweak an old backup for testing, yet... might be a while... and it kinda looks like once the thumbdrive was "re"-installed as "Unknown Device", that re-installation nuked it for good, regardless of restoring the 98se2me backup files; at least nothing I've tried has helped, incl. hacking the reg manually... oh well, I was overdue for a clean reinstall anyway, that's part of the reason I haven't kept current on the backups...) >;]

You... do realize that this is an experimental patch, right? Problems like this are possibly going to occur. Also, what options did you use? I see you used Option 8, but what came first? I'm not going to lie, I've had problems when updating old installs of 98SE2Me to newer versions, and have had to re-image my virtual machines. -yes, and as I usually state, I'm still of course VERY appreciative of all the EXCELLENT work done on these projects, by MDGx, Gape, and all of you very knowledgeable and helpful people... -it's my own dam fault, just haven't had the time to catch up on all the backups lately (WAAY too busy to catch up on ANYTHING, lately), so believe me, when this stuff happens I'm yelling at myself 10 times as much as I do in the posts... ... -re: options... I used #2 first, then the "shell"-stuff (#3 or #4, forget), then #8... ... -and honestly, I thought I already had pretty much all the updated USB files in place; -any chance there's some (improper) registry stuff done in 98se2me in #8? The thumbdrive was already installed before, shouldn't have had to re-install it at all, much less get the "Unknown Device" AS the installed device! Why can't it recognize the thumbdrive, even when directly pointed to the dl'd driver files, when it was already easily perfectly installed WITH those very same files before? What could 98se2me's #8 have done to cause this? I don't get it... and can't seem to fix it... -there *may* be a conflict, somehow, with my (lousy!) SiS 7001/7002 (SiS650 chipset) USB crap, especially the part where it has to disable USB2.0 for win98...? dunno, just gonna *have* to find/force the time to do some experimenting w/clean installs, multiple driver sets, many updates/tweaks, etc, again... ... [[if I had ANY money, I'd upgrade mobo to a nice, simple, stable Intel/etc... never never EVER buy a cheap SiS mobo! ]] ... --ps: Re: "it's the new Gdi...": I haven't noticed any problems (or any difference, at all) with ANY of the gdi* versions of/over the past year, myself... (been playin around w/both 98 & ME versions)...

-grrr! ... this latest (8-1-06) 98se2me also BROKE my usb thumbdrive driver (on two different test partitions), and uninstalling #8 did NOT fix it! -it keeps on AUTOMATICALLY installing it as "Unknown Device", no options, no errors, just automatically finds a listing of "Unknown Device", installs it as such, and immediately Disables it! Nothing I've tried has corrected this... -the usual way, manually pointing the Driver Updater to the dl'd Lexar driver folder just says that no driver can be found in this folder for this device, when in the past it did NOT say that, it found the driver fine and then installed it... and it worked perfectly before this, w/older 98se2me... ... I really believe you should include a link to older, "safe" versions of 98se2me in the main dl post... (there are some other relatively recent changes to 98se2me I've not been thrilled about, as well... I believe in at least one case, you removed one of the file replacements, because some IE6 update installed a newer one, but what about those *many* of us who refuse to suffer w/IE6? That ticked me off... perhaps that particular case has been rectified, it was a little while ago...) ... I'm now looking at a full reinstall just to get my -bleepin- thumbdrive to work again... (I new I should've made yet another full OS backup before trying this latest 98se2me, but ran out of extra HD space... and my older backups would need so many changes/tweaks/updates that it wouldn't be worth it... sigh)

-re: 98se2me install issues... ... >update: taking a peek at some of your .bat code, I noticed u use the existance of %windir% variable and file(s) named NUL (like in \windows, etc) as branching conditions... I set %windir% and %winbootdir% manually as the first lines in my AUTOEXEC.BAT, and I sometimes have files named NUL in \windows, etc... ?... any chance that's a problem? (and if it is, ya really should use more "unique" branching methods when coding, such as relatively random, unique variable/file names...) ? ... ... >> update2: modifying/correcting according to (above), I have been able to get (some) more functionality out of 98se2me, hinting that that is/may be the prob... I'll finish testing this properly, shortly... ... ... >>> update3: yup, confirmed (mal)functioning of 98se2me's USB (Option #8), which was exhibiting the same malfunctions, corrected when I remarked-out my windir lines in autoexec... safe to assume same will apply to #2 (since it used similar branching methods/code)... again, I'll verify soon, but safe to say this needs to be modified in 98se2me branching code... ... ... >>>> UPDATE4 (final): yup, confirmed w/Option#2, now... a programming note: never assume anything; must use unique (nearly random) variables/filenames, nothing that a user might possibly use/set/modify himself... {I didn't follow thru the "windir" thing to find out *why* you use that as a branching condition, but it needs changing... along with the "NUL" filename branching (when doing ATTRIB stuff, etc; much too common of a filename) }

-re: 98se2me install issues... ... -ok, I re-dl'd 98se2me, and it *is* different than the previous dl (version 5.9 vs. 5.7, and diff. file contents)... weird, first time that's happened to me... ... running it still had some same problems: same junk (repeated) left in autoexec.bat, and it did not backup/replace my old/current files (such as GDI* ver: 4.90.0.3002 to the new (in 9!M): 4.90.0.3003)... but this time it didn't create/leave any root dirs ("%WINDIR%", "9S2M")... ... it's most likely related to the new(ish) version-checking code in 98se2me, since none of this stuff ever happened before that new code (these are the 1st runs of 98se2me that I've done which included that new code). If you'll point me to that newish code, I'll try debugging... ... {ps: same/similar stuff happened when I tried it on a small, old, minimal "Control" partition of win98se (fully updated to 02-2006, incl. 98se2me of that period)...} ... {pps: I never do/use "98-lite" or any other "special" mods/tweaks to my OS's, just the std. sesp2/98se2me plus your updates/patches... I do use XOSL (boot loader) & BIOS settings to switch between 3 HD's, which sometimes does seem to change the drive letters during boot, between DOS and windows GUI, but I doubt that should make any difference to the new(ish) 98se2me code...?... -any chance the new code could be thrown by unexpected values in %windir% or unexpected version numbers? -again, if you'll point me to that newish code, I'll try debugging...}

-uh oh... ... -I ran 98se2me (Option #2) for the first time in a few months, and here's the problems: . 1) leftovers: . A. it created (and left) two new dirs in root of C drive: "%WINDIR%" (empty, except for an empty folder called "Tasks"), and "9S2M" (not empty; 49 MB of 666 files) . B. it left this junk at the end of AUTOEXEC.BAT: . IF EXIST C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\GDI32.DLL C:\9!M\ATTRIB.COM/B +A -H -R -S C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\GDI32.DLL IF EXIST C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\GDI32.DLL COPY/Y/Z C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\GDI32.DLL C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\GDI32.W98 IF EXIST C:\9!M\GDI32.DLL COPY/Y/Z C:\9!M\GDI32.DLL C:\9S2M\SYSTEM IF EXIST C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\GDI.EXE C:\9!M\ATTRIB.COM/B +A -H -R -S C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\GDI.EXE IF EXIST C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\GDI.EXE COPY/Y/Z C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\GDI.EXE C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\GDI.W98 IF EXIST C:\9!M\GDI.EXE COPY/Y/Z C:\9!M\GDI.EXE C:\9S2M\SYSTEM IF EXIST C:\9!M\98MEDOS.BAT CALL C:\9!M\98MEDOS.BAT . 2) it did NOT create any backups of the replaced files, even tho I told it to... . 3) it doesn't seem to have made any replacements (I only checked a few files, tho), even tho it appeared to execute properly... ... ??? (I'll hold off on running Options #3,8 til we work out this stuff first...) ... ... * EDIT: hmm, it must have changed/replaced SOMETHING, because my recycle bin has been reset again (always happens after 98se2me runs... I always have to change it back to "Do not move files to recycle bin") ?

-yup, right after I posted I thought the same thing, was about to (re)-edit that (dam)-long post for the zillionth time, but thought it was (too-)long enough already... ... -but then I thought about how sometimes, with all these updates/addons/etc, some people have posted about having problems getting back online {which would be BAD, cause they can't even access our Restore/uninstall options to fix whatever broke}, or even booting up windows (I was one of the latter, about 8 months ago, and boy did I let MDGx have it! -but then I cooled down, apologized [or maybe deleted/edited the post before anyone would see it; can't remember], and worked around it because of countless years experimenting/programming, but I kept thinking: what if this happened to the average, overly-trusting user? He'd might be screwed... but in either case, with a downloaded program (similar to 98se2me), at least there are potential options/help already on the hard drive... perhaps some emergency DOS-mode-accessible helpful batch files { to MDGx, again: he does this in his 98se2me, and it's a really great idea...} -plus, there are always potential web page/internet/ISP/security/web browsers/.... problems, and that would also be BAD when dealing with functions which directly modify the user's OS... Always have to keep in mind the strong devotion us "98se" old timers have for our beloved dino-OS; anything that can go wrong, will go wrong for some people...) >;]

--UPDATE: -funny timing, after posting that last one, I noticed Petr's new(ish) thread with a nearly identical subject: "Future development of 98/SE/Me service packs"... -he goes on, in great detail, about the same kind of idea, but implemented a bit differently... see my (even longer, lol) post in that thread for more info... ... -MDGx: you might be interested in checking out that post, as well; any input from you is of course of Gospel-quality... >;]

-lol, Petr, I've just posted a (somewhat lengthy, as well) post about creating something like this (albeit smaller, simpler ); and I even mentioned MDGx's site as a "link-to" list for the combo-package to call upon: instead of trying to group every possible update/tweak/extra into one (or several) huge package(s) to download, just make a tiny, "list-linker" installer/program, with checkboxes and links to MDGx's own links (since his site'll probably outlive the solar system), effectively grouping everything together in a much easier way for the individual users to use, and follow... kind of like leading the user by the hand, saying "ok, here's what you probably want, and in the proper order, so now just click the links (or Google for em, if the links go bad), download the individual pkg's/updates/etc to a single group directory on your hard drive, and when you're ready, I'll install ('call') it all for you"... ... -providing a sort of "database" management of it all for the user, without actually having to include the pkg's/updates/etc... this way, the user just easily gets exactly what he wants, (even just a little at a time, if he desires, especially if on dialup/etc), and we take care of all the "thinking", the linking, the order of operations, the grouping, backup/restore (using a database-style installer, backup/restore would be pretty easy, exactly as I mentioned to MDGx recently regarding his 98se2me), and our list-installer-linker is tiny in size and (somewhat) simple in programming/maintenance... ... -of course, trying to include ALL of the variations (win95/98/98se/ME/etc) which you listed above might be a bit too much of a project , unless perhaps we can "compartmentalize" it, make it modular in design, and whoever (in these forums) is interested in each individual area (such as the different OS's, diff. versions of IE, winMedPlay, etc: I myself only like/use/know about win98se, IE5.5sp2, winMedPlay7.1+MPC, etc), could provide the "list" of links (or of stuff to link) for that particular area... hmm... -now, mind you, I'm just an "old school" old-timer programmer (before Web or Windows! ), so I can visualize all this in that way; I don't have much experience with Web programming (linking/etc) yet (tho I've started school for that recently, and so far it doesn't look all that bad, especially compared to the Assembly/Machine Language design/coding from scratch that I've done, long ago)... I do understand the issue of trying to keep links up to date, but thx to the Incredible All Knowing All Encompassing and probably Eternal MDGx's site (possibly among others; we could actually reference several link-sites, in case one/some links go bad), along with a little of His cooperation, the linking maintenance shouldn't be too bad, I believe... (and of course all the smaller updates/etc would/could already be grouped, zipped, 'n available for download, so the actual number of links to maintain wouldn't really be large)... -hmmmm (again).... -of course, this is probably all just dreaming, for me; my "extra" available time will likely be over before long, and then I'll again be too overwhelmed w/schoolwork (going back to college, at 38, after 17 yrs, and doing it all online which runs twice as quickly/intensely as "regular" classes, is all I can handle, especially w/chronic medical probs interfering), so I can spout all this nice talk, get the ball rolling, but I'm not sure how much actual "work" I'll be good for... >;]

-Eck: you're probably right, especially after the July-cutoff; not enough People (instead of MS-sheep! lol) interested in win98se, for a "Linked" multi-installer like that... well, gotta dream, especially in this world... B) [...as I mentioned in other posts, I -may- have some "down" time soon, and this idea (plus a mod to 98se2me) might be interesting for me to pursue... -plus, it doesn't sound like a big deal to program, really, mostly just a list of pkg's + update filenames, provided in a simple guide-like way to the user with checkboxes, and then "called" from the group directory after the user goes out and grabs whichever ones he wants from links to each available pkg & update (+ likely "google" search terms to find em, if the links go bad; and most links could reference MDGx's site-links, since he's got EVERYTHING linked up in there, and it'll probably be there til the end of time)... I most definitely would NOT do what Gape did with sp2: disecting each update and re-doing it myself; I always thought that was a mistake (potential for error, plus a "hack" stigma that many potential users might shy away from, not to mention a huge amount of time/effort for little gain, in the most part, instead of just "firing-up" each update consecutively, like I'd do... with the very minor exception of a few "problematic" updates which might require special attention ] -btw, there's already a similar installer/update package for winME, and how many people could possibly be interested in ME?! {-lol, no offense of course to all those (3 lol) people in that thread/project... } >;]

-I have the newer ver. installed, here, as well... (no problems) ... -I always stick w/the latest versions when that warning comes up... vast majority of the time, it's good... ... -well, the sp2.1a has gone 6 months w/out an update... and it didn't [always] have all the absolute latest updates, back then, either (...some still in "testing" phase, back then, perhaps; etc)...

-hmm, any chance (in hell lol) that it finally includes the fixes necessary to use it over the good ol' 6467-ish (safer, nicer, in some ways) version? (I [reluctantly] keep a recent ver. copy around, for those [very] rare occasions that 6467 isn't 100%) ?

...yes, I know/suspected, , just so dam desperate after so much searchin/testin/swearin... >;] (...but I'm still interested in any potential speed/stability/etc improvements which might apply to ME over 98se2me... -there must be some reasons why the users in this (and other ME) threads prefer ME to 98se2me, when w98se CD's are a dime a dozen these days... ?)

-sfc related, in w98se? during all my [sometimes quite nefarious] experimenting, I've never had any sfc-interferences... (of course, I never use sfc, nor have seen a use for it; I make quick copies of the 2 sys dirs regularly (and b4 installing anything much); on today's fast/big hard drives [$40, 120gb/8meg cache], it only takes a couple minutes, and it's easy to switch between 3, 5, 8, etc copies (just renaming 4 dirs in DOS MODE, 30 secs; I made tiny (yet safe) dos batch file to do it for me), when necessary, during those rare times that scanreg/restore [going 1-3 days back] doesn't do the trick... [i keep 1-3 copies on "C", and other copies on other "BACKUP" partitions, 7z-ing em 6 at a time into an amazingly small file, once/month or so, which fits on a regular 700mb CD, or 6/12 times those 6 (up to 72 OS copies/backups per single 35 cent DVD!) on my new $39 16x DL DF DVD-burner...] )

...that's a great combo of install beds, bristols... ... if I weren't so busy [lazy ], I'd keep up a # of diff. install dir's [i already have a tiny (yet careful) real-mode DOS batch snippet that quickly switches between w98se installs (renames any 2 sets of ProgFiles/Windows dirs); -I used to keep 4 or 5 going, during testing/experimentation, til school got me busy this year)... >;]

-hmm, does sound pretty easy... tho it would probably lack your own creative flare, a signature of sorts, for your wonderful 98se2me project... (perhaps some entries, as usual, for ideas...)

...as I always say, the Highly Worshipable, Guru Gods!... >;] (... and now, naturally, the [kinda] bubble-burster: that fix is ok for now, but it's really just cosmetic: for the registry scanner to be doing that (especially continuously), that [usually] means sumthin big is bogus about your registry (unless Guru Gods are aware of this particular thing as being a false alarm)... it's for the GG's to decide...)

--I was thinkin exactly the same thing. Luv all this activity! (quiet periods just make me nervous, lol) thx again & as always, Guru Gods... >;] (...plus there's a little personal [ ] additional expression of glee: The Pell Grant just came thru, so looks like this old DinoBrain [38; ancient] will be able to continue first college classes (full time now, online) in 2 decades! thank god... my [re]schooling in modern puters/programming/IT finally commences!)

-thx, MDGx, I'll take (another) look, as soon as I get the time... ... but I also wanted input from the other users here, those who've modded/tweaked/YANKED the crap outa ME, and now really like it... ... (especially about stability/speed, after yanking; I'm not too interested in additional features, except maybe if "FULL" ME might possibly provide usb2.0 support for my HATED mobo (tried EVERYTHING/EVERYWHERE else, no go for sis650/7002...)

(..."rapidshare".... ick... )

-hey, I like that idea! Something flashy, worthy of all the effort put into the wonderful stability/speed improvements, something that says "-THIS BABY HAS BEEN SUPERCHARGED!" (-not literally, lol, of course, that's a bit over the edge )

-MAJOR congratulations, Erp! I remember (very fondly) when I was first PAROLED from dial-up-HellPrison... It's a whole new world, isn't it, erpdude8... >;]

-well, personally, for many many many many many reasons (as discussed, at length, in these & other forums), I emphatically prefer sticking with IE5.5sp2... [and WinMedPlay 7.1, -only for mp3's; I use, and swear by, MediaPlayerClassic [MPC] 6.4.6.7 for almost all vid], incl. all UN-official updates for em, along with good strong security settings/practices... ... -and, as you're reinstalling, of course you should absolutely avoid AOL 9.0... it hates win98, and contrary to their propaganda, is not very compatible with it... you will (very likely; eventually) have slowdowns, locks, corruption, etc... When I'm absolutely forced into it, I install AOL 8.0 on friends'/family's puters for em... much safer/more reliable, tho still an eeevil thing to do to your w98se OS... Most AOL stuff can (now, especially) be done by just going to their website (even their famed "content", in many cases), and don't get me started on how *lousy* their inclusion of McAfee/AOL antiSpyware is (you're much better off using Avast! AV [which recently won major awards in direct competition with all those "big" boys, and it's FREE!], Spybot, Spywareblaster, Adaware, Firefox [w/AdBlock, FlashBlock], etc... less false positives, more proper catches, less system interference) ----------------------------------------------------- -hey, great post there, Eck... ... -we need someone to cobble together a complete w98se install package (with most things listed as checkbox options, of course), perhaps just the install scripts, which would access a single folder (already on the user's HD) containing all the individually downloaded packages wanted by each individual user, preventing the need for a single MONSTER download package... (and that also would make updating the Monster Installer easier; user just dl's and replaces whichever individual pkg was updated)

-good answer, eidenk; I was about to mention (some) of those things myself... ... -98se2me *does* include all relative ME updated files; MDGx is very good about that (I'm surprised he didn't respond to you, as u mentioned; he's usually also very good about that, as he is about everything, really); perhaps he doesn't include updated files which showed some problems (not all updates are good)... ... -and about "unofficial" files in this ME sp: I kinda agree with you about that, it should be separated into different options, during the install: only official updates, or *all* recommended updates/files (incl. unofficial), just to be user-friendly and safe. (I myself would prefer the "total" pkg; -from 20 yrs of experience, I trust Eeeevil Micro$h_t *much* less than truly enthusiastic users who actually *care* about their work/systems; just look at Micro$h_t's abysmal reliability/stability/security/support/etc history... there's a *reason* that "unofficial" updates even exist! 'Cause Micro$h_t was too dam lazy/uncaring to do something right, for a change... (or too dam greedy; if they made/fixed an OS that actually worked right, then why would we be compelled to swell their already-fat monopolistic pockets by buying their newer OSes? ) ... -but, I digress; sry; I do appreciate any/all input, as I try to make my decision about which OS to (fresh) install (again)...